The seriousness of the AIDS illness in human patients appears to be ever increasing and, although the etiological agent human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type III (HTLV-III) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been analyzed and assayed as in the Gallo U.S. Patent No. 4,520,113, no substantial checking of the illness has been shown. The present treatment of patients is with a treating agent of small peptides which have been proven to inhibit HIV infection in vitro as well as blocking the binding of the viral envelope to the CD4 receptor.
A preferred peptide treating agent is the octapeptide T, also known as Ala-Ser-Thr-Thr-Thr-Asn-Tyr-Thr and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide defined as His-Ser-Asp-Ala-Val-Phe-Thr-Asp-Asn-Tyr-Thr-Arg-Leu-Arg-Lys-Gln-Met-Ala-Va l-Lys-Lys-Tyr-Leu-Asn-Ser-Ile-Leu-Asn-NH.sub.2.